DIRECTOR’S COLUMN
             Jack Payden-Travers

Working in the anti-death penalty movement requires flexibility. Of late, much of the change at VADP has been internal: Henry Heller resigned in June 2002; Becky Davey, who was our office administrator, left at the end of February 2003; and Laurie Miller, who started in that position in March 2003; has recently been hired away by The Nature Conservancy. Ben Soesman, our summer intern, will be with us until the end of August, and Mikhaela Payden-Travers, a May graduate of the College of William & Mary, has come aboard for the summer to help out as we transition to a new office administrator in the fall.

Change is also occurring with Virginia’s death penalty. Decisions like Atkins v. Virginia have affected executions nationwide. The Lenz case may effect as many as 20 of the men presently on Virginia’s death row. Governor Warner’s recent stay of Bobby Swisher’s execution stated that it was issued “in order to ensure just and consistent application of Virginia’s capital punishment statute.” We know that under the present system, there can be no “just and consistent application.”  The recent U. S. Supreme Court Wiggins ruling, based on incompetent counsel in a Maryland case, could have even further - reaching impact on the executioner’s calendar.

VADP staff is just back from the Starvin’ for Justice Fast and Vigil in front of the U.S. Supreme Court where one can sleep on the sidewalk but will be arrested if you stand on the steps with an anti-death penalty sign. In other words: the first amendment ends at the sidewalk. It was an energizing experience in spite of humidity, heat, and rain. Two men, Lewis Gilbert (OK) and Hilton Crawford (TX), unfortunately were executed while Bobby Swisher (VA) was granted a stay during our four-day vigil of leafleting, petitioning, and street theater.

Looking back at my journal entries since October 2002, I realize how often VADP activities have me on the road.  Much is happening across the nation, as well as in the Commonwealth, and given the upcoming “sniper” trials, this summer entails much preparation and planning for the fall. With this issue, VADP Action will be returning to a publication schedule of at least three issues each year. The fall edition is already in preparation. Note that our Annual Conference is scheduled for October 25, 2003 in Charlottesville.

I would ask that each of us consider the possibility of scheduling a VADP event in your community. Would you be willing to host a potluck supper followed by a death penalty discussion? How about asking your faith community to schedule a forum on capital punishment? Prefer a book discussion on Ernest Gaines’ A Lesson Before Dying? If you schedule an event, VADP will arrange for a speaker and supply literature for distribution. How about wearing VADP’s popular t-shirt to the beach? The message on the front (“An Eye for an Eye Makes the Whole World Blind”) surrounds a global eye. The back says “Why do we kill people who kill people to prove that killing people is wrong?” It is a conversation starter. We each need to do our part. What that “part” is will vary from individual to individual.  In the Talmud it states that “It is not incumbent upon you to complete the task, but neither are you to desist from doing your part.” Let us walk together on this continuing journey - the journey towards abolition.

VADP Newsletter Late Summer 2003